Hello there,
I want to use water-soluble plant sources as the colorant in a lipstick formulation. I used the powder beetroot powder in the formulation but didn't work. It came out rather like a lip balm.
Any suggestion, tip or trick would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Comments
May I ask why? The colorant agent is anthocyanin which is edible and apparently is a good antioxidant.
The FDA even specifically says "Approval of a color additive for one intended use does not mean approval for other uses." Therefore, even if a colorant is approved for food, that does not mean it is approved for cosmetics.
The cosmetic industry in the US is not highly regulated except in a couple areas. Colorants is one of those areas. Formulators (who follow the law) are limited to the colors listed in the FDA approved colorants. The safety or origin the ingredient does not matter. If it's not on the list, it's illegal to use as a colorant.
I guess it has something to do with the stability and subsequent changes of natural colorants in the formulas. As far as I'm concerned, beetroot powder and all other food/fruit/vegetable powders do not work in color cosmetics as they are. They either don't work at all (they color the product but not the skin) or they stain the skin irreversibly (like turmeric or henna).
What if I use beetroot powder, not its water extract?
Thank you and happy new year to you.
In one formulation (this was naturally coloured fish oil softgels) the turmeric produced a beautiful shade of yellow - then bleached in barely 48 hours to white (the base colour of the softgel is titanium dioxide).
Anthocyanin colours are often used as pH indicators too. Hibiscus for example is yellow at neutral pH, green in alkalis and only red in acidic solutions.
Blue pea is blue in neutral solutions but turns pink in acidic solutions.
Beet powder is a little more stable compared with others, but it does go more pink in an acid and redder in alkali.